User Reviews

A little king of New York turned outcast princeling, Edward Norton wanders through a purgatory of his own design in the Spike Lee-directed 25th Hour, enjoying (if the word applies) one last day of freedom before serving a seven-year sentenceA little king of New York turned outcast princeling, Edward Norton wanders through a purgatory of his own design in the Spike Lee-directed 25th Hour, enjoying (if the word applies) one last day of freedom before serving a seven-year sentence on felony drug charges. The story, which David Benioff adapted from his own novel, unfolds mostly over the course of that one day, but it's enough to reveal a lifetime. The gifted son of an Irish firefighter-turned-bartender (Brian Cox), Norton entered his ill-fated life of crime one easy step at a time. Neither the quiet disapproval of his lifelong friends (Barry Pepper, as a high-stakes stockbroker, and Philip Seymour Hoffman, as a lonely high-school English teacher) nor the love of a good woman (Rosario Dawson) could steer him away from it. From a tasteful Manhattan apartment, beneath an unknowingly ironic Cool Hand Luke poster, he became an inconspicuous criminal, the drug lord as Harper's subscriber. Now his reign has ended, and the business of living has become considerably less pleasant. Telling what's essentially a story of introspection, Lee lets Norton drape his reflections over a whole city. Norton and his friends go about their day against the backdrop of a New York still unsteady from the recent attacks of Sept. 11, a phase in the city's history captured in The 25th Hour with almost journalistic detail. Where a less disciplined filmmaker might have used this merely to echo his characters' frames of mind, Lee sets up a complicated relationship between the city and its inhabitants, particularly Norton, who at one point explodes in a hateful monologue that barely hides the love beneath it. But love it or hate it, he knows he has to leave it, and that knowledge gives every moment a clear sense of urgency. It doesn't hurt that all of the performances are, at the least, remarkable. Norton creates a character who seems fully capable of the offenses he commits, and just as capable of the crippling regret he struggles to keep at bay. After all, one small change anywhere along the line, and things could have turned out differently. The film at its simplest serves as a cautionary tale, but it also functions as a meditation on how little it takes to redirect a life by choice or by chance: A woman could fall for a shameless volley of flirting, or a sideline business dealing pot could turn into a career dealing heroin, or a plane could fall from the sky, or the police could knock on the door and everything could change.…Expand

When it comes to 25th Hour, this one succeeds in spite of Spike Lee. One of my least favorite directors for the way he randomly interjects race into films that are not about race at all, he manages to largely keep his mouth shut in this one,When it comes to 25th Hour, this one succeeds in spite of Spike Lee. One of my least favorite directors for the way he randomly interjects race into films that are not about race at all, he manages to largely keep his mouth shut in this one, though he did add some very useless elements of racism that just did absolutely nothing for the plot in classic Spike fashion. Now, luckily for him, the film has a very interesting plot and storyline that Lee does tell well, but the true reason why 25th Hour is so successful is the acting. Truly a great cast, Edward Norton, Barry Pepper, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rosario Dawson, Brian Cox, and Anna Paquin, are all awesome in this one and truly carry it. Norton and Hoffman are two of my favorite actors of all-time, but yet I cannot help but feel as though Pepper kind of stole the show a little bit. He was just that good. Emotionally powerful at many different times, 25th Hour is a riveting tale of man facing his last 24 hours of freedom before going to prison for seven years and on the back of the acting, this one soars in spite of Lee's attempts to try and mess it all up.…Expand

it does bloody grabs you from the start, one of the best first scenes in cinema history if you ask me.

However the mid of the film felt slow to me, was plannin on giving it a 6 but the last scene really redeemed it and got it an extrait does bloody grabs you from the start, one of the best first scenes in cinema history if you ask me.

However the mid of the film felt slow to me, was plannin on giving it a 6 but the last scene really redeemed it and got it an extra point.

so, really awesome start and perfect ending, if only the journey was as captivating..…Expand

With all the talent associated on this project I expected so much more. The central theme is apparent early on, but no real revelations or insights after first 15 minutes. Film ends up being a really slow movie with a desperate need forWith all the talent associated on this project I expected so much more. The central theme is apparent early on, but no real revelations or insights after first 15 minutes. Film ends up being a really slow movie with a desperate need for quality editing. The dialogue is self indulgent and irrelevant. Many of the scenes are often drawn out and quite honestly, pointless. The score is so inappropriate it's almost laughable. This film seemed more like a student effort... And not a particularly gifted student at that. Skip it…Expand

25th Hour isn't exactly a bad movie, it's just a pointlessly long, tedious, boring movie. The acting isn't horrible (it isn't great), but the story has a central theme that tries to hard to be meaningful and moral. Also, the editing is choppy25th Hour isn't exactly a bad movie, it's just a pointlessly long, tedious, boring movie. The acting isn't horrible (it isn't great), but the story has a central theme that tries to hard to be meaningful and moral. Also, the editing is choppy and exhausting. By the end, the movie turns into a preachy melodrama about not giving up on the life you want. Be warned; it's all cheese.…Expand

25th Hour is 2 hours long, but if you don`t fast forward it will feel like 25 hours.Allot of talk amongst friends, and people the main character knows. It`s a slow moving move with not much going on besides the thought of what is going to25th Hour is 2 hours long, but if you don`t fast forward it will feel like 25 hours.Allot of talk amongst friends, and people the main character knows. It`s a slow moving move with not much going on besides the thought of what is going to happen to the main character who will be going to jail. All his friends, and family talk about him like hes going to die. This is a backround movie to watch while you do something else.…Expand

i think that this movie rank from below-average to normal in the most cases,
the blew-average is the way that spike lee decided to deliver the story and the normal is the story itself,
in other words the story struggled so hard to bei think that this movie rank from below-average to normal in the most cases,
the blew-average is the way that spike lee decided to deliver the story and the normal is the story itself,
in other words the story struggled so hard to be delivered but the strong aspect about this movie was the performances.
as usual Edward Norton gives a solid performance along with the secondary characters like Philip Seymour Hoffman and Barry Pepper, but some scenes were completely irrelevant to the story such as the bathroom mirror scene and some of the camera work was completely unnecessary, it's like "hey we can do this effect and this effect", and I'm not really familiar with spike lee's work but i'm guessing from this movie it's average and the one thing i can take from this movie is me saying "hey you're good looking, you know that's gonna be bad for you if you ever go to jail" WHAT "oh just something i learned from 25th hours".
if you didn't get my point then you need to watch the movie again, also the last scene when Edward Norton is old with his happy family is completely ridiculous, hey spike lee through some extra bucks on that shot, don't be so cheap.…Expand

The 25th Hour is a faithful adaption, sticking closely to the novel. The only real deviation is Spike Lee's inclusion of the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and the event's effect on NYC, and it's done masterfully. The acting is superb acrossThe 25th Hour is a faithful adaption, sticking closely to the novel. The only real deviation is Spike Lee's inclusion of the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and the event's effect on NYC, and it's done masterfully. The acting is superb across the board, the pacing near-perfect and it all adds up to one of the most moving films I've ever seen.…Expand

This certainly isn't a movie that I would want to watch together with friends. Instead of trying to grab your attention with visual-heavy scenes, this movie mainly consists of conversations. It's about a realistic scenario and how the peopleThis certainly isn't a movie that I would want to watch together with friends. Instead of trying to grab your attention with visual-heavy scenes, this movie mainly consists of conversations. It's about a realistic scenario and how the people affected by it are dealing with it. And I really like the movie for that. It's different from what I usually watch.
The conversations are also very realistic. There are some scenes that were kind of unnecessary but still blew me away by how these characters talked to each other. A lot of times I thought to my self: "Yea, I could see my self taking part of that conversation." Although the drug mobster is kind of overblown.
I can see why people find this movie boring. It's not for everyone. If you're the type of guy that can sit down for 2 hours and listen to people talk to each other about what they think will happen to them and what they're afraid of instead of them taking part in action scenes, then give this movie a shot. I certainly really enjoyed it.…Expand

Ed Norton was completely believable. However, the script was so incredibly sad. I don't want to watch a film about utter hopelessness. Fine for people who love tragedies. If you want to walk away not feeling suicidal, don't bother.

The one scene where Norton's character is talking to himself in the mirror of that restaurant is the one that totally sold me on this film. It was pretty good until that point but when that happened I was blown away. Great film!

This movie got me from the start. The intensity of the human drama is very high, like in a Bergman movie.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

10

JoshCFeb 3, 2007

In the 25th hour, Mr. Lee exercises his prodigious visual talents with unusual restraint, and keeps some of his more confrontational urges in check. Because the movie is so measured, so melodic, its bursts of wild invention, which might In the 25th hour, Mr. Lee exercises his prodigious visual talents with unusual restraint, and keeps some of his more confrontational urges in check. Because the movie is so measured, so melodic, its bursts of wild invention, which might otherwise be irritating, are electrifying. The ending, narrated by Mr. Cox, is as bittersweet and sincere an evocation of the American dream as I have seen on film in quite some time, acknowledging both the futility of the collective national fantasy and its consoling, resilient power. Almost as touching is a moment when Monty, staring into a men's room mirror, launches into a profane tirade against his fellow New Yorkers (and everyone else). His rage is impressively ecumenical, encompassing blacks, brutal police officers, gays, Osama bin Laden, the rich, the poor and every other ethnic or social type you can think of: all of them put down with ruthless, scabrous precision. The rant recalls a famous sequence in ''Do the Right Thing'' and also Eminem's more recent invocation, in ''White America,'' of ''so much anger aimed/in no particular direction just sprays and sprays.'' But like Eminem's rhymes, Monty's outburst, and the montage that accompanies it, contain tenderness as well as hate. Mr. Lee, an irreplaceable New York filmmaker, understands better than most that the true New Yorker's deep, exasperated and unquenchable love for his city is sometimes best expressed in the language of rage.…Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful

10

MelindaV.Jan 4, 2007

It was an awesome movie, with an awesome plot. Lee did a wonderful job on this one.